Andrew Zimmern Calls This Classic Midwestern Dish 'Comfort Food Nirvana'

Quirky, no-nonsense, and supremely adventurous food personality Andrew Zimmern travels the world in search of unique foods on programs like "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern," but finds a sense of homeyness in a dish with its roots in his backyard in Minnesota. The dish in question is tater tot hotdish, and hotdish is perhaps Minnesota's most famous food. According to Zimmern, these hearty hotdishes were originally created to fill the bellies of hard-working Midwestern folks who toiled outdoors for hours. What's more is that hotdishes like this one are comforting, affordable, easy to make, and filling.

Zimmern calls his tater tot hotdish "a fun take on meat and potatoes" on his website. His version starts with a layer of browned ground beef and turkey that has been cooked together with minced onion. This base is sprinkled with frozen green beans and then smothered with condensed cream of mushroom soup. Then it's time for the final layer of the namesake tater tots. A stint in the oven finally brings it all together and renders the potato portion crispy and tempting.

Andrew Zimmern would likely pull his trademark thick glasses down and glare at you if you called his comfort food staple a casserole. "To me, a casserole is a dish where everything is stirred together and topped with something crunchy. A hot dish is layered with a crispy topping," Zimmern says on his website. Clarification received. Regardless of the name, this quick assembly-style crowd pleaser lends itself well to doubling up. Make one for you and another for a friend, or prepare a second tray for the freezer to eat later, all with practically the same amount of time and effort.

While Zimmern's recipe calls for frozen green beans, he mentions having a preference for fresh green beans. As with many one-pot dishes that have longstanding roots in a region, each town and family likely have their own spin on a hotdish. This warming soul-pleaser is pretty much an anything-goes type of situation. The green beans can easily be substituted with other vegetables ranging from broccoli to corn. Just make sure it's layered and ends with your favorite tater tots. The crunch of the potatoes and comforting feel-like-a-kid-again filling is what this famous Minnesota dish is all about.